Circus

The doubles confessed that they were actually changelings who had taken on the appearance of the first suitably numbered group they found, in order to freely move about Lux Astra. The adventurers chose not to report them to the guards but asked them to pretend to be someone else in the future. Meanwhile, the portal to the circus had been closed, and the party returned to town to spend a few more quiet days.

When the circus information brochure started jumping and sparking, it became clear that the circus had reopened. The heroes hurried to the asteroid. They were greeted by the familiar ticket attendant, who explained the rules: avoid killing anyone, participate in attractions, and collect tokens. Whoever collected the most tokens by the end of the festival would receive a wish spell granted by the sorceress. Tokens could be traded, won, and earned by completing quests, but could not be bought with gold.

Immediately upon entering, the travelers saw a huge fair with bright tents and incredible attractions. A beholder hovered in the air above the field, occasionally punctuated by the distant roar of a cannon and fireworks exploding in the sky. The adventurers first approached a frog who was speaking with an angry bald man. The man boasted of his titles and demanded to know his son’s whereabouts, while the frog insisted the boy was hiding and should be allowed to have fun. It turned out the frog could change visitors’ forms, and Brotor was transformed into a mushroom.

Next, the adventurers decided to play the wheel of fortune, spending a significant amount of gold on bets and winning five tokens. They were also asked to watch over a gnome woman who, as if hypnotized, could not tear her gaze away from the wheel. She was taken to the frog, who turned her into a boy. The adventurers handed him over to the aristocratic father, who immediately took him away from the circus. Shortly afterward, the aristocrat returned, declaring the child was neither his nor even a boy, and offered a hefty reward to whoever could find his real heir.

The next attraction was a pyramid that had to be knocked down with a chattering ball. The problem was the ball seemed to have a mind of its own, flying anywhere but toward the pyramid. Brotor managed to negotiate with it, and the adventurers earned another token.

Nearby, a man was very enthusiastically trying to retrieve a duck from a pool, preventing anyone else from approaching the attraction. Surina and Brotor entered the pool, causing the duck enthusiast to protest loudly, prompting intervention by the beholder. He raised both sides onto a platform and instructed them to play a game to resolve the dispute over who would pull the ducks from the water. The man was only interested in ducks, while the adventurers only cared about tokens, making negotiations simple. Ultimately, Surina herded the ducks to Brotor, who caught them with his giant mushroom mouth and then spat them at the man.

Near the pool was a small yurt containing a mirror maze that had to be navigated without losing anyone. The heroes cleverly passed through the maze without looking into the mirrors—likely missing many interesting sights—but secured another token and returned safely.

In a neighboring tent, a cooking contest took place. Calling themselves Team Griboedov, the adventurers prepared a soup called “Cannibal Emperor” using a royal mushroom they had brought along and ingredients provided by the organizers: honey of oblivion, moonflower pollen, invisible rabbit’s paw, chewing zombie’s tear, helium smile core, and ectoplasmic jelly. The cooks tasted all ingredients themselves, experiencing various side effects: Brotor began to fly, Saya turned invisible, and Danaya became slightly gelatinous. The rival team made a strange smiling puree, causing uncontrollable laughter in anyone who tried it. The audience declared Team Griboedov the winners, awarding them tokens and badges as best chefs.

Exiting the tent, the adventurers realized it had been a while since they’d seen fireworks, so they went to check on the cannon. It turned out to be broken, and the pyrotechnician asked them to fetch a spare but warned them not to let any children near it.

Children hiding behind a log at the edge of the clearing were indeed trying to get hold of the cannon, but the adventurers negotiated for several fireworks in exchange for the youngsters revealing their secrets.

For the honestly acquired fireworks, the teens revealed that despite the prohibition, there was token trading happening in the circus. A bear was selling them, and a green abishai was buying, already having accumulated more than thirty tokens. They also disclosed that the aristocrat’s son had transformed into a mushroom and was somewhere in the circus.

The adventurers approached the bear, who had two tokens for sale at 500 gold each. To comply with circus rules, they agreed to help the bear find the aristocrat’s son for a reward: the bear received gold, and the adventurers got the tokens. The deal was successful.

To celebrate their successful deal, the adventurers headed to the bar, where they were challenged to outdrink a local dwarf regular. Brotor, Fenris, and Surina agreed to the drinking contest. Despite Brotor’s stamina and Fenris’s known love for alcohol, Surina outdrank everyone. At least the adventurers remained standing, while the dwarf staggered off to sleep in the straw.